the poly 800 is probably my favorite synth out of a dw-8000, microkorg, virus b, moog mg 1, and others. The poly 800 is very straightforward and easy to use. it does have limitations, but it makes really unique sounds. the usual filter and fm mods make it by far better than the microkorg.

The Poly is cool because it has full-sized keys, it's less common and the paraphonicness of it means it sounds good through guitar pedals. That's often overlooked but I think worth mentioning. I often run a polysynth into my Evolver (at the moment the Tetra is permanently hooked up like that) to make it paraphonic, it's a cool sound that isn't used all that much.

Agreed stab frenzy, and it being paraphonic isnt all that bad. It just has to be used diffrently. You wouldnt feel upset that your monosynth could only play one note at a time, you would just use it accordingly. one of my favorite songs that ive made relys on it being paraphonic. with it being paraphonic, you can play diffrent notes while sweeping the cutoff with the eg without it opening the filter back up, as long as one or more keys are held down.

having owned a poly800 and played the microkorg (the first one) i would definitely say the 800 is more unique sounding. as stab said its good for running through effects (phaser! i wish i had my Murf at the same, that would probably sound pretty incredible) decent analog chorus. it does bass ok but its best at strings, organ, and pads i think. also check out the HAWK-800 mod/upgrade/hack gives it ton more sound and modulation possibilities, i sold mine off before i could get that done so i could buy a drum machine which i then sold to buy a Murf ironically.

microkorg is neat its got a vocoder and built in effects, arppegiator so its a more versatile. and you can probably dial in "vintage" sounds a lot easier.